Red Bull KTM Ajo rider takes third place in the first ever Moto2 race at the Chang International Cicuit. Binder finishes fourth after fighting for the podium.

The flyaway rounds of the Moto2 World Championship started off with a podium for Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Miguel Oliveira. In the Thai GP, the Portuguese crossed the finish line in third place, followed by teammate Brad Binder in fourth. Both maintain their second and third positions in the overall standings, as well as Red Bull KTM Ajo continuing to lead the team standings with a 25-point advantage.

The 24-lap contest was very demanding, both physically for the riders and technically for their bikes. Taking off from the second and third rows, respectively, Oliveira and Binder made good starts, gaining two positions each on the first lap. Both escaped with Pecco Bagnaia in the front group, with the Portuguese leading the way until the twelfth lap.

From that moment on, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders rode together in second and third position until 3 laps remained. The duo would then concede another spot to a rival rider, eventually placing third and fourth.

After the Thai GP, Oliveira is second in the overall standings -28 points behind the leader with 100 still in play. 74 points off the Portuguese is Brad Binder, who remains in third place.

The next round of the Moto2 World Championship will take place in two weeks’ time at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan.

Results (Race)
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 39:00.009
2. Luca Marini (Kalex) +1.512
3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +1.651
4. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +1.808
5. Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) +6.260

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2018 – Riders
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 259 points
2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 231 points
3. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 157 points
4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 132 points
5. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 126 points

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2018 – Teams
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 388 points
2. Sky Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 363 points
3. EG 0’0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 250 points
4. Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) 219 points
5. Pons HP40 (Kalex) 156 points

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER
“It’s clear that a third and a fourth position are not such bad results, but honestly we are disappointed because we have lost points in the title fight. Our expectations for this race were quite high. When our rivals beat us, we have to analyse what has happened in depth and see what we can learn from it for the future. In any case, there are still many races to go and we will never give up.”

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“Honestly, today I would have liked to have got the victory and I pushed hard from the start to get it, but today it was just not possible. On some laps I felt that I was struggling with the front brake; the bike skidded a lot both when entering and exiting corners, so it seems that the extra heat on track today didn’t help. In the end, we claimed another podium and 16 points for the World Championship standings. There are still four races remaining, and at some of them we have achieved great results. We will not give up.”

41 BRAD BINDER
“I’m not entirely happy with how the race went, because I couldn’t repeat the pace I had set over the weekend. That was a little frustrating. In the end I have to be satisfied, because I had several scares and I was able to save them, even though I would have liked to have placed on the podium; we were very close, which is positive. We learned a lot throughout the weekend. It was a very good GP, although honestly I expected more from the race. It’s time to turn our attention to Japan and continue working hard to achieve a better result.”